Family Disintegration and Dysfunctionality

I. Introduction
II. Why Family Disintegration is a problem in Panama
A. Causes for family disintegration
1. Teenage pregnancy and abandonment
2. Divorce
3. Households with dysfunctional dynamics
B. Consequences of the problem
1. Cycle of teenage pregnancy
2. Gang violence and addiction
3. Dysfunctional individuals
III. Conclusion
Vocabulary: Household, disintegration, dynamics, prone, cope,
exhibit, empathize, approval
Ericka Castillo
8-952-833

Has the quarantine really been positive for the environment?

I. Introduction
II. What has been observed
A. Benefits
1. Reduction in air pollution
2. Reduction in water pollution
B. Disadvantages
1. Pouching
2. Plastic use
III. Conclusion and opinions

Color Guard

I. Introduction
II. Color Guard across the board
 A. What is Color Guard: Color guard is a sport that takes place within high school,
college and independent marching bands and drum corps. It is the visual
accompanying of the marching band through the synchronized use of flags, mock
rifles and sabers, and it is used to accompany and augment the music of the band.
1. How it was born: At first, color guard was a military activity where men and
women with flags, rifles and sabers would accompany the ROTC carrying the
U.S. flag next to them in front of the marching band. But color guard as we
know it today started with a woman named Peggy Twiggs who invented a
move called the “Peggy spin” when she was bored at a practice. From there, the
guard began to create different tricks with the flags and different equipment
and change from just showing the flags at different angles to doing tricks.
2. How it evolved: During the 70’s, the colors of the flag began to change to
represent the school’s colors and so did the uniforms.
During the 80’s color guard became more of an indoors sport and the guards
started to base their movements on dance styles like jazz and ballet techniques
and this also changed the uniforms and gave the guards more creative freedom.
B. Color Guard internationally
1. Middle and high school color guard: BOA
2. DCI: One of the biggest platforms where color guard is showcased is DCI or
Drum Corps International where different independent Corps from all over the
country compete at the highest level both with marching band and color guard
by doing themed field shows. This is huge in the US and sells out stadiums.
3. WGI: And the stage where color guard shines the most is at WGI or Winter
Guard International which is an indoor color guard competition of high level in
which guards showcase their talent through themed shows.
C. Color Guard in Panama: the style of Color guard in Panama is geared more to our
use of traditional Panamanian music and Latin American rhythms during parades
and less to the US lyrical style. Also, in Panama we only use flags, not rifles or
sabers. In addition, color guard school groups in Panama are only available for
females while in the US, it is mixed.
1. The first Guards: Color Guards started to become more common in Panama at
the beginning of the 2010’s. The first guard that I could find was Baherlo’s
from the school José Daniel Crespo when they went to The Rose Parade in
Pasadena, California.
2. Its evolution in the country: They have become increasingly popular and a key
element in a marching band delegation.
III. Conclusion: The future of CG: Incorporation of more elements, growth

Vocabulary: ROTC, geared, sabers, bugle corps, drum corps, augment, indoor, lyrical, dancewear,
twirl,
 Personal Voice Assistants

I. Introduction
II. Evolution of voice assistants
A. Evolution of voice assistants:
1. Their origin: Radio Rex was the first voice activated toy released in
1911. It was a dog that would come out of its house when its name is
called. However, the idea of a voice assistant was born in the 60’s when
the first natural language processing computer program or
the chatbot ELIZA was developed by MIT professor Joseph
Weizenbaum. It was created to "demonstrate that the communication
between man and machine was superficial".[6] The 1990s digital speech
recognition technology became a feature of the personal computer
 with IBM. Much later the market launch of the first smartphone IBM
Simon in 1994 laid the foundation for smart virtual assistants as we
know them today.
2. What they are now: The first modern digital virtual assistant installed on
a smartphone was Siri, which was introduced as a feature of the iPhone
4S on October 4, 2011.[9] Its aim was to aid in tasks such as sending a
text message, making phone calls, checking the weather or setting up an
alarm. Over time, it has developed to provide restaurant
recommendations, search the internet, and provide driving directions.
In November 2014, Amazon announced Alexa alongside the Echo.
In April 2017 Amazon released a service for building conversational interfaces for any type
of virtual assistant or interface. Voice Assistants like these can do everything from answer
questions, tell jokes, play music, and control items in your home such as lights, fans, door
locks and smart home devices.  Can be found in cars, work, home, hotels, and restaurants.

B. How they’ve changed daily life: In 2019, we estimate that 111.8

million people in the US will use a voice assistant at least monthly, up
9.5% from last year. This is equivalent to 39.4% of internet users and
33.8% of the total population. They are engaging with their voice assistant
as if they were human. Google wrote on their blog post that “They’re saying
‘please,’ ‘thank you,’ and also ‘sorry.’ Voice Assistants emphasise the
conversation. With conversational UI, voice assistants are holding humanity
into technology.
1. Screens are not necessary: You can have access to computers, mobiles
and many devices without moving slightly on your couch. Writing
without grammar or spelling mistakes.
2. Personalization: When shopping for a smart home device or product,
89% of consumers said they were influenced by its compatibility with
their voice assistant. The reverse is also true—85% said a smart
device(s) they owned influenced what kind of voice assistant they
used/purchased.
Voice Assistants emphasize the conversation. With Voice Assistants, Marketers can have
more insights into multiple users in a single household who make different purchase
decisions, have different brand preferences, wish lists and other personalized characteristics.
III. Conclusion
 My first ever concert

When I was a baby, my mother would play music for me from the time she was expecting me.
Growing up, I would listen to the likes of Richard Clayderman, Beethoven, etc. But my favorite
pianist growing up by far was Raul DiBlasio. His songs were so diverse in genre and feeling, and
his playing was always immaculate. When I was 6 years old, I began taking piano lessons for the
first time. I was very motivated and loved taking the classes and learning something related to
music.
One day, I was watching tv with my grandmother, and suddenly I see an advertisement promoting a
concert organized by the first lady at the time, Vivian de Torrijos, in benefit of FANLYC. It was a
Raul DiBlasio concert in Panama. I jumped up from the bed and started calling my mom to come
and see. She asked me if I wanted to go and, of course, I said yes. She told that she would see what
she could do and left it at that. For the next two months, I pestered my mom for her to get me the
tickets. She was probably exhausted of it, but she kept on telling me she’d try. Finally, about a week
before the concert started, she called me and told me that she wouldn’t be able to buy the tickets
because she had many expenses to take care of at the time. Naturally, I was distraught because I had
already pictured myself there, but I just adopted an attitude of resignation. I went to my piano
classes that week, and I mentioned to my teacher that I was sad because I wasn’t going to get to go
to the concert. Next class, when I arrived, she was sitting in the chair with the tickets on the piano,
and she said, “I want you to go to that concert”. She had talked to some people she knew and gotten
me the tickets. I think I might have jumped for excitement, and I thanked her over and over again.
Finally, the day of the concert came, and I was super nervous and excited. My mom was not going
to go in with me, but at the last moment, a lady gave her a spare ticket she had and she was able to
go in. The whole concert was fantastic and I listened to every single song and already knew them
all, but there was one that I wanted him to play, which was the song that he wrote for his son when
he was born called, “Heart of a Child” or “Corazón de Niño”. The audience chanted for it, and he
played it to close the concert.
I can say without a doubt that it is one of my fondest childhood memories, and even though I don’t
play the piano like I used to, thanks to my mom, my teacher, and that concert, I discovered my love
for music that is still a big part of who I am today. God orchestrated that whole thing.